Readers' Blog: We need to pick up pace in slowing cars down

Certain areas of the south-east of Cork City are to be designated 30km speed zones. This is welcome. Why was the ward excluded? Arguments appear to be that cul de sacs do not warrant a speed limit.

We still will have large areas of Blackrock, Mahon, Ballintemple, and Ballinlough with no special speed limits. From speaking with parents and families, cul de sacs are no stranger to speeding cars, and, therefore, there is heightened danger for children living in the estate.

Speed limits of 30km/h are not about the nanny state attacking would-be Jeremy Clarksons on our roads. They are one strand of traffic-management, coupled with physical traffic-calming, which can change driver behaviour. A municipal-wide speed limit would send a message to drivers that it is not acceptable to speed through housing estates and our urban villages.

Budgets are tight in City Hall. They have always been. People are tired of hearing that as an excuse. If we, as a city, are to expand and take in new areas, we must be mindful of the service delivery, and we currently are struggling with that.

We need to be innovative in our solutions, and not simply shrug our shoulders at the shillings-and-pence brigade.

There is always an accountant with a reason not to do a project. If we want Cork to be the best place to live, we have to take our models from the cities around the world that come up with ideas to tackle problems. Imitation is the best form of flattery.

I’ll continue to listen to the residents of our city about what they want.

If we can find extra funding for event centres, extra funding for film festivals, and extra funding for motorways, which heretofore were unaffordable, then we can afford to protect everyone on our roads.